Everyone wants that perfect smile that can launch a thousand ships. But dentist fees will probably cost you a ship too.
If you’ve ever considered getting veneers – a thin, layer of porcelain permanently attached to your original tooth to mask its shape, color, or positioning in the mouth – there are a handful of things you need to know first before getting one.
Here are 9 things to know first to find out if veneers are for you:
1. You need a great cosmetic dentist to get topnotch results
While getting veneers is a cosmetic procedure, it is also a major dental procedure. So if you want to get veneers done, make sure to go to a great cosmetic dentist in your area whose style fits your idea of a perfect smile. Read up on their reviews and look at their before and afters to make sure you’ll like your veneers 10 years later down the line.
2. Veneers aren’t a must, but a popular option
Not all of us were born with great looking teeth. If you don’t like the look of your overall smile, then veneers can be an option for you. Crooked teeth, discoloration, or chipped teeth, these can all be cosmetically fixed with porcelain veneers.
3. There is no “one smile fits all”
Cosmetic dentists emphasize that you can’t just take a photo of your favorite celebrity to the dentist’s office and tell them to copy her exact smile. What works for her face may not work for yours. Your cosmetic dentist will first discuss with you what is possible based off what you want, consider your personality, how you talk, the expressions you make, and how high your actual smile goes, before they go ahead and make functional, beautiful-looking veneers for you.
4. Imperfections = perfection
We want that perfect smile, but cosmetic dentists beg to differ. They want to maintain the character and personality of your smile, like a charming gap for example, and enhancing its best qualities.
5. You don’t have to get veneers for all of your teeth
Depending on your needs and budget, you can get veneers for as few as a single tooth.
6. If you’re planning on getting any type of cosmetic surgery, inform your dentist before getting veneers
This is important because any cosmetic work done to the face will throw off the way your cosmetic dentist will fashion your veneers for you, considering all the facial features that contribute to your smile.
7. The color of a veneer is a tricky thing
We all want white teeth. But the truth is, our teeth are either gray-white or yellow-white by nature, and the tricky thing cosmetic dentists have to do is to make your smile white without making it appear opaque, dense, and worse – fake. To find the perfect shade, your cosmetic dentist will look at your skintone and paint temporary veneers so you can envision it beforehand.
8. After discussing your ideal veneers, temporary versions are fitted
Your cosmetic dentist will take a mold of your teeth and fashion temporary veneers like a blueprint for your teeth. They will then take photos of you wearing the temporary versions, and mutually agree if you are decided to move forward with your new smile.
9. Veneers are expensive.
A consultation can cost $500, at least in celebrity cosmetic dentist Dr. Apa’s (@doctorapa) practice. But if you do decide to move forward with the procedure, this amount is deductible from your total bill. Veneers from Dr. Apa are $4,000 a tooth, but you can get one for $1000 to $4000 anywhere else in the country.
Read the full article on Cosmopolitan here.